I had the great fortune of buying a SB13 Ultra with less than a year of use for a great price, and have two decent but not great subs currently hooked up (think Elemental Designs A2-300 + Klipsch RW-12)

My question is, would I be better off running all 3 subs or just the SB13 Ultra since it's so far and away superior to the other two?

Thanks

Try it and see or hear for yourself. You've got nothing to lose but a little time.

I was and still am surprised at the improvement I got when adding my Def Tech into my system.

I had the great fortune of buying a SB13 Ultra with less than a year of use for a great price, and have two decent but not great subs currently hooked up (think Elemental Designs A2-300 + Klipsch RW-12)

My question is, would I be better off running all 3 subs or just the SB13 Ultra since it's so far and away superior to the other two?

Thanks

You are likely to greatly improve your FR above 30/40 Hz. The problem will be in the deep bass where the difference in roll off between the sealed and ported subs cause them to be out of phase, resulting in bad cancellations. So for music it would probably improve things. For movies it would be a train wreck.

You are likely to greatly improve your FR above 30/40 Hz. The problem will be in the deep bass where the difference in roll off between the sealed and ported subs cause them to be out of phase, resulting in bad cancellations. So for music it would probably improve things. For movies it would be a train wreck.

Man you are spot on, I have spent the last 2 days trying to balance the 3 subs and it's been virtually impossible. Doesn't help that I need to keep relatively low volume levels (2 year old) so testing bass heavy scenes or test tones is tricky.

I eventually just went to the Ultra by itself and have been focused on getting it dialed in perfectly.

LOVE it so far, it actually sounds fantastic even at relatively low volume levels with BOTH music and movies. Amazing sub.

But I keep wondering how duals would sound...can't get it out of my mind enough to even enjoy the single SB13 Ultra

Man you are spot on, I have spent the last 2 days trying to balance the 3 subs and it's been virtually impossible. Doesn't help that I need to keep relatively low volume levels (2 year old) so testing bass heavy scenes or test tones is tricky.

I eventually just went to the Ultra by itself and have been focused on getting it dialed in perfectly.

LOVE it so far, it actually sounds fantastic even at relatively low volume levels with BOTH music and movies. Amazing sub.

But I keep wondering how duals would sound...can't get it out of my mind enough to even enjoy the single SB13 Ultra

I think you are on the right track....get it set up as good as you can with the single ultra. And yes, duals will sound better especially for music. From what I have seen, one sub usually gives a pretty good response under 40 Hz, but very uneven above 40 HZ. So for movies, you mainly gain headroom in the deep bass with dual subs, but they give a much better quality bass for music due to the flatter response you can get.

I suggest your next step, if you are serious about having great bass, is to get Umik-1 mic from miniDSP, download REW, and measure your room. For $75 you can check you in room Frequency response and determine if you need to adjust placement or if a second sub is really needed. I was happy with one sub until I measured the room..........

Hi folks, I'm going to look at buying a used pc13 ultra, and the seller is willing to demo it for me before purchase. Is there anything in particular I should listen for or visually inspect in order to ensure it is okay? Any common problems I can check for?

Also, it is an older model with the Bash amp, is there a significant difference in performance or anything else I should be worried about with it?

Hi folks, I'm going to look at buying a used pc13 ultra, and the seller is willing to demo it for me before purchase. Is there anything in particular I should listen for or visually inspect in order to ensure it is okay? Any common problems I can check for?

Also, it is an older model with the Bash amp, is there a significant difference in performance or anything else I should be worried about with it?

Hi folks, I'm going to look at buying a used pc13 ultra, and the seller is willing to demo it for me before purchase. Is there anything in particular I should listen for or visually inspect in order to ensure it is okay? Any common problems I can check for?

Also, it is an older model with the Bash amp, is there a significant difference in performance or anything else I should be worried about with it?

I've owned the PB13 Ultra for about 6 years. I have always used the RCA connection.

I purchased a Marantz AV 8801 last Fall and was considering using the XLR connection to the sub. This would not be easy since all of my AV equipment is in a closet in another room and everything is wired in the walls. If I want to use the Balanced connection on the PB13 Ultra I'd have to run roughly 30' of XLR cable through the walls again.

I'm wondering if all that work would really be worth it. Have any long time PB13 Ultra owners gone from RCA to XLR and is there a discernible difference?

I've owned the PB13 Ultra for about 6 years. I have always used the RCA connection.

I purchased a Marantz AV 8801 last Fall and was considering using the XLR connection to the sub. This would not be easy since all of my AV equipment is in a closet in another room and everything is wired in the walls. If I want to use the Balanced connection on the PB13 Ultra I'd have to run roughly 30' of XLR cable through the walls again.

I'm wondering if all that work would really be worth it. Have any long time PB13 Ultra owners gone from RCA to XLR and is there a discernible difference?

I replaced my long RCA runs to my 13 ultras with XLR and that solved my noise issues. Was getting soft buzzing that was driving me nuts. My cables were on floor rather than in walls. In my case, yes there was a discernible improvement as noise is completely gone.

After spending the substantial monies for dual 13 ultras, the XLR solution worked well for me. YMMV.

I replaced my long RCA runs to my 13 ultras with XLR and that solved my noise issues. Was getting soft buzzing that was driving me nuts. My cables were on floor rather than in walls. In my case, yes there was a discernible improvement as noise is completely gone.

After spending the substantial monies for dual 13 ultras, the XLR solution worked well for me. YMMV.

Thanks for the reply. I don't have any buzzing, not that my ears can hear anyway. I contacted SVS on this and they said XLR would make no difference unless I was the having noise issues that you mentioned.

I've owned the PB13 Ultra for about 6 years. I have always used the RCA connection.

I purchased a Marantz AV 8801 last Fall and was considering using the XLR connection to the sub. This would not be easy since all of my AV equipment is in a closet in another room and everything is wired in the walls. If I want to use the Balanced connection on the PB13 Ultra I'd have to run roughly 30' of XLR cable through the walls again.

I'm wondering if all that work would really be worth it. Have any long time PB13 Ultra owners gone from RCA to XLR and is there a discernible difference?

I change all my connection to XLR and there is no going back.
Less floor noise (slight hisss from RCA to none with XLR).
A much better connection since they lock in.
Also look much better and profesional.

A little expensive but well worth-it if you can afford it.
A friend of mine who work on radar told me they use all XLR connector with Belden cable.
So I ask him how far they go before putting a signal booster.
His answer, 10 miles!

After owning my SB13-Ultra for 3 weeks I've decided to go dual. Never thought I would have spent $3000 on subs. But let's face it; we are bass-junkies. I know there are cheaper solutions out there but when you get a taste of SVS there's no going back. BTW- this SB ultra rocks. Having 1 is more than enough, but having 2 should put me in bass heaven.

After owning my SB13-Ultra for 3 weeks I've decided to go dual. Never thought I would have spent $3000 on subs. But let's face it; we are bass-junkies. I know there are cheaper solutions out there but when you get a taste of SVS there's no going back. BTW- this SB ultra rocks. Having 1 is more than enough, but having 2 should put me in bass heaven.

I agree 100%! I'm patiently waiting for funds to get my second SB13 Ultra. Probably not till this time next year. Congrats on the duals and let us know how much better it is than just a single sub. How big is your room? Mine is just a tad under 2000 cu ft.

Which ultra to get I am looking for a ht sub and like the ultras do you think there is a Difference between the sealed or ported? I am planing on getting 2 one this year and one next year. My room is 24 x 15 with a 11 x 11 room open to the side with a 10' hall way coming into the room. Which one would you get.
Allen

Which ultra to get I am looking for a ht sub and like the ultras do you think there is a Difference between the sealed or ported? I am planing on getting 2 one this year and one next year. My room is 24 x 15 with a 11 x 11 room open to the side with a 10' hall way coming into the room. Which one would you get.
Allen

At what size of room would you say is the max for the SB13? This is one on my short list, and my room is roughly 3200 cu ft.

Depends what your main listening preference? Music or movies? If music it should be fine in that size room but if your watching movies more then you will need duals IMO. My room is 2000 cu ft and its great for music. It's actually really good for movies too but I would like a little more thump and am looking at buying another sometime next year. I'm 50/50 music to movies.